GOD’S WORD -- YOUR KEY TO VICTORY

GOD’S WORD -- YOUR KEY TO VICTORY

By Rev. Cherri Campbell

The Bible is God’s Word. Many people view the Bible simply as a history book. One woman recently argued to me that the Bible was written by men and therefore it cannot be trusted. She said men put their ideas and interpretations into the Bible. My response to that is, “Does God lack the ability to communicate to man? Does he not have the wisdom and knowledge to be able to get into writing what he wants said? Is he dependent upon man and man’s knowledge to be able to speak to man?” The answer to that is NO! Second Peter 1:21 says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” God transcends man! God proved that on Mount Sinai when he wrote the ten commandments on tablets of stone with his finger. He also proved it at the conception of Jesus. When the angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to a son and she asked how it would happen he said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” These are two examples of God getting his Word and his purposes into the earth aside from man’s influence. Of course there are many others.

However, a more common view of the Bible has subtly crept into many churches. This view acknowledges that the Bible gives the law of God, setting forth God’s rules and regulations for the way we should live, without recognizing the power it contains to change and create things in our lives. There is much teaching in the Word of God regarding its power. Isaiah 55:10,11 say, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” God’s Word has the power within itself to bring itself to pass. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is living and active.” The Amplified translation says, “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective].” When God spoke to Mary and told her she would have a son the Words that he spoke to her were the seed planted in her womb, and when she added her faith to it that seed was fertilized and became a living being. Another example of the self-fulfilling power of God’s Word is Creation. Seven times in Genesis chapter one it says, “And God said...and it was so.” Hebrews 11:3 says, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” God’s Word is the force that created the universe! And God’s Word is the force that brought God’s Son into this world. And God’s Word is the same force that will create and change things in your life!

God’s Word is eternal. Psalm 119:89 says, “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven,” and in Matt. 24:35 Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” This world is temporary. The Bible teaches that one day the Lord will burn the heavens and the earth by fire and will create a new heaven and a new earth. What is temporary can be changed by what is eternal. The eternal overrides the temporary. The eternal will come to pass, will be fulfilled, even if the temporary has to be changed in order to do so. God’s Word will come to pass even if this world, our circumstances, or our bodies have to change in order for it to do so. Therefore, if God’s Word says something about your life or your circumstances, and your life or circumstances are not lining up with what God’s Word says, then you need to apply and use God’s Word to change it.

How do you use God’s Word? By believing it in your heart and speaking it out your mouth! God created the universe by saying. You were born again by believing and saying: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Rom. 10:9,10). The previous verse (verse 8) says, “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming.” In Joshua 1:8 we find the number one key to having success in our lives: “Do not let this Book of the Law (the Word of God) depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” So you see, faith has to be in two places, in our hearts and in our mouths. Second Corinthians 4:13 says, “It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak.” The verse we mentioned earlier, Is. 55:11, says that God’s Word will not return to him empty, but will accomplish what he desires. How does God’s Word return to him? Can you throw it back up into heaven? No! It returns by speaking it back to him! And in Ps. 103:20 it says, “Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his Word.” When the angels hear God’s Word being spoken they quickly come to attention to carry out his commandments. Praise the Lord! We even have the angels working on our behalf when we begin to speak God’s Word in faith!

Jesus taught how to change the things in our lives that are obstacles and hindrances to us in Mark 11:23, “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Jesus emphasized the importance of saying in this verse three times more than he emphasized believing because saying is where most people miss it. They will mentally agree to God’s Word, or they might even strongly and steadfastly believe it in their heart, but until it is spoken out loud it does not have the creative and change producing power of God in it to bring it to pass.

There are many examples in the life of Jesus where he spoke the words that he wanted to come to pass. When he and his disciples were in a boat crossing a lake a terrible storm arose and Jesus spoke to it saying, “Peace, be still” and the wind died down and it was completely calm. At another time when Jesus was hungry he walked up to a fig tree to see if it had any fruit. It did not, so he cursed it saying, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. Jesus spoke to the dead body of Lazarus after he had been dead for four days. In John 11:43 it says, “When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” The dead man came out and the people took the grave clothes off him. He was alive! Jesus even spoke the Word of God to overcome temptation. In Matthew chapter four Jesus was tempted by the devil and he responded to every temptation by saying, “It is written!” He had confidence in the Word of God to a remarkable degree knowing that it would deliver him. But notice he said it with his mouth. It wasn’t enough just to think it.

By seeing the many scriptures in the Word of God that show us the power of God’s Word, by learning what God’s Word says about believing and confessing his Word, and then by seeing it done in the life of Jesus, I pray that you have gained a new respect for God’s awesome Word, and that you will act on what you have learned. Be a doer of the Word. If you do you will see its creative and life changing power work for you. In order to apply the Word of God to your life it is good to change second and third person pronouns to first person, thereby making it personal to yourself. Following is a confession of scriptures from the Word of God for your use that covers such things as your needs being met, your protection, and your healing as well as promises for other areas of your life. Start now to read it aloud daily and you will see it work for you!